Woman Trying To Kidnap Children At LA Park Had Done It Before: Police

LOS ANGELES, CA — Just months after she was arrested for trying to kidnap a child outside a Los Angeles Target store, a woman was arrested for trying to snatch children from a Koreatown neighborhood park, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police arrested 27-year-old Vannessa Pineda on suspicion of kidnapping Tuesday, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tony Im. This time, she is being held without bail.

Police were called to Seoul International Park on the 3200 block of San Marino Street at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Im said.

"The suspect was at the children's playground and was grabbing children who were playing at the location," Im said. "Parents intervened and called police."

Witnesses reported Pineda picking up the children and letting them go only after the parents stopped her, prompting her to fight with the parents.

It wasn't that long ago that Pineda was in custody on the same charge. She was arrested in February in North Hollywood on suspicion of picking up a child at the Target at 620 S. Virgil Avenue and walking outside with the 4-year-old victim, according to the LAPD.

"Suspect (stranger) forcefully grabbed 4-year-old victim from behind without consent and carried him outside of the store," the LAPD announced in a bulletin at the time.

The woman put the child down after his parent confronted her. She fled on foot.

Within days, a tipster led to Pineda's arrest. She was being held on bail set at $1.25 million in connection with the alleged Target kidnapping attempt. It wasn't immediately clear what led to her release prior to Tuesday's incidents at the park.